Fruit and Vegetables: Intervention Board Distribution

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What quantity of British fruit and vegetables the Intervention Board redistributed in 1998 and 1999; and what is their target for this year.

Baroness Hayman: The information requested is set out below:
	
		
			 Year Tonnage Distributed 
			 1998 4.5 
			 1999 720.6 
		
	
	This year over 120 tonnes has been distributed to date.
	Since it is not possible to predict the timing or volumes of withdrawals it would be inappropriate to set targets in terms of the proportion or tonnage of withdrawn produce to be distributed.
	The Intervention Board's aim is to facilitate free distribution of withdrawn produce so that all eligible recipients who wish to take advantage of the arrangements can do so.

Common Land: Registration Disputes

Lord Jopling: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will list the sites which were registered as common land under the Commons Registration Act 1965 where disputes over that registration remain to be settled, giving the acreages and reasons for dispute in each case.

Lord Whitty: Disputes over registrations made under the Commons Registration Act 1965 are dealt with either by the Commons Commissioners, in respect of registrations made up to 2 January 1970, or by a Commons Registration Authority (usually the county council or unitary authority) in respect of registrations made on or after that date.
	No central register of disputes is held, and information held by the registration authorities could only be provided at disproportionate cost. I will, however, write to the noble Lord with information about disputes currently being dealt with by the Commissioners.

Young Drivers: Penalty Points

Earl Attlee: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many drivers under 21 years of age have at least one current penalty point on their licence.

Lord Whitty: Figures on penalty points for drivers cannot readily be extracted from the computer record. The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	DVLA, together with the Transport Statistics Division of the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, is planning to set up a separate database of anonymised driver information, extracted from the DVLA computer record. When this is done, the database will be able to provide the answer to specific questions about drivers quickly and cheaply.

Salaried Defence Service

Lord Windlesham: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What were the reasons for deciding against the appointment of a senior lawyer, answerable to the board of the Legal Services Commission, to oversee the work in the initial six local offices employing salaried public defenders in a way that respects and protects their professional integrity.

Lord Irvine of Lairg: The Government remain of the view that salaried defenders employed in a fully-developed salaried defence service should report to a senior lawyer who would protect and promote their professional integrity. Six pilot offices will be used initially to assess the viability of the project. The first three of these will open in April 2001. The Government and the Legal Services Commission proposed in the consultation document on salaried defenders published in June that, during the period of assessment, a member of the commission, who is an experienced criminal practitioner of high standing, should act as the head of professional service for the six offices. The heads of each office will have direct access to him. The commission member who will undertake this role is Mr Tony Edwards, a distinguished defence lawyer of great experience. He is senior partner of a substantial criminal law firm and is a specialist in the professional conduct and management of criminal law work.

Immigration Adjudicators: Bail Guidance Notes

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will publish a list of the persons and organisations consulted on the bail guidance notes for adjudicators.

Lord Irvine of Lairg: Her Majesty's Government played no part in the drafting of the new guidance notes on bail for immigration adjudicators from the Chief Adjudicator.
	The drafting of these guidance notes was instigated by the Chief Adjudicator and they were issued by him for the guidance of adjudicators when hearing applications for bail.
	Those consulted during the preparation of these guidance notes were: Mr Justice Collins, President of the Immigration Appeal Tribunal, Ms Hope Hanlon, Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the United Kingdom and all Regional Adjudicators.
	Before these guidance notes were issued, a copy was sent to the Immigration Law Practitioners' Association, who were invited to submit their comments.

Sudan

The Earl of Sandwich: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What assistance they are giving to the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development secretariat for the peace process in Sudan; and when they intend to review that assistance.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: We have given financial and diplomatic assistance to the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development secretariat in order to try to encourage a sustained and accelerated negotiation.
	Peace in the Sudan remains a priority. We are constantly looking at ways in which we might be able further to assist progress towards a comprehensive settlement.

Gibraltar and European Parliament Elections

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will arrange for the citizens of Gibraltar to take part in direct elections to the European Parliament in 2004.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The Government have regularly made clear that they are actively seeking enfranchisement in advance of the 2004 European Parliament elections. We remain committed to this goal.

Council of Europe Development Bank

Lord Judd: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will initiate interdepartmental discussions between Ministers and officials to re-examine the role the United Kingdom might play to provide support for the Council of Europe Development Bank, as well as in involvement in its work; and, if not, why not.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Although the UK decision not to join the Council of Europe Development Bank (CoEDB) was taken long ago, the Government have been prepared to reconsider. Last year, the FCO consulted the Department for International Development and the Treasury on the merits of joining at that stage. From the UK point of view, the CoEDB appears to fall between the two stools of aid agency for Central and Eastern Europe and source of loans to its members on highly favourable terms. Since the bulk of the fund's lending is to Western European countries, the UK could not justify charging the very large membership costs to our development aid programme, where we are confined to participating in programmes which benefit aid-recipient countries. Nor could we justify the costs in terms of commercial benefit, either on grounds that such loan facilities are not otherwise available or that the benefits warrant transferring the resources required from other activities.

Afghanistan: British UN Aid Workers

Lord Ahmed: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What advice they and the United Nations give to British nationals who are employees of the United Nations regarding humanitarian work in Afghanistan.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: We strongly advise British nationals against any travel to Afghanistan. We believe there is an increased threat to British interests there from global terrorism. We have advised the UN against sending UK nationals working for them to Afghanistan for the same reason. Ultimately, however, we recognise that decisions on staffing and travel are for the UN to make in consultation with the individuals concerned. We also acknowledge that UN workers have a special role to play in conflict zones such as Afghanistan, and that the UN has enhanced security procedures in such areas. We therefore keep our advice to the UN under regular review.

Afghanistan: British UN Aid Workers

Lord Ahmed: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the advice which they and the United Nations give to British United Nations employees for Afghanistan is consistent with advice given to those serving in other countries.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The travel advice which we give to British nationals is specific to each country. In the case of Afghanistan we have concerns arising from the increased threat to British interests there from global terrorism. I refer the noble Lord to the Answer I gave in response to his earlier Question.[HL3959]

Secretary of State for Education: Question and Answer Sessions

Lord Cocks of Hartcliffe: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the Secretary of State for Education and Employment's offer to answer questions from members of the public in Bristol, published in the Bristol Evening Post of 8 September, has been made in other parts of the country; and, if so, where and when.

Baroness Blackstone: A wide range of regional newspapers were invited to include this offer as part of the Parents and Schools Campaign and Parents On-line Week. The specific offer from my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, to answer questions from members of the public, was included in the following newspapers (in addition to the Bristol Evening Post):
	
		
			   
			 Manchester Evening News 16 August 
			 Newcastle Chronicle 22 August 
			 Sheffield Star 24 August 
		
	
	My right honourable friend the Secretary of State also participated in two radio phone-ins where callers were able to question him on their concerns on education. On 30 August he took part in an extended phone-in on Your and Yours (Radio 4), and on 20 September he took calls for one hour on the Jimmy Young Show (Radio 2).
	It is open to any member of the public, at any time, to write to the Secretary of State for Education and Employment to raise questions or concerns.

Youth Services: Local Authority Support

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What steps they have taken to ensure that the level of financial support given to the voluntary youth sector by local authorities is more even and better reflects the cost of the services provided.

Baroness Blackstone: Local authority youth services support the voluntary sector through grant aid, staff secondments and provision of free or subsidised premises. Local authorities decide on the level and type of grant in the light of local needs and priorities.
	The Connexions Service is being introduced in some areas from April next year. Local Connexions Partnerships will help to maintain and develop those areas where the voluntary sector is providing necessary services for young people.

Prison and Probation Inspectorates

Lord Harris of Greenwich: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many organisations and individuals had by 2 October expressed support for the Government's proposals relating to the Prison and Probation Inspectorates; and how many had opposed them.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: Out of the initial 42 stakeholders, government departments, voluntary organisations, interested parties and various trade unions who were invited to comment, six responses had been received as at 2 October. Of the options identified by the consultation document:
	one respondent has favoured Option A--Maintaining Current Arrangements;
	one respondent has favoured Option B--Establishing Terms of Reference for the Inspection of Joint Working combining it with option C;
	two respondents have favoured Option C--Sharing Inspectors Between the Two Inspectorates; and
	option D--Joint Chief Inspector for Prisons and Probation, has not been a favoured option by any respondent.
	The other two respondents were not definitive in their responses to the options proposed.
	The date for the conclusion of the consultation exercise is 31 October 2000.

Criminal Record Checking: Fees

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What estimate they have made of the costs that will be incurred by individuals who apply to become registered volunteers using the proposed Criminal Record Check and Enhanced Criminal Record Check; and
	What estimate they have made of the costs which may be involved for voluntary sector bodies acting as registered agencies to facilitate the criminal record check procedure; and what measures they have taken to ameliorate such costs for the voluntary agencies concerned.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: It has always been the intention that, when the Criminal Records Bureau comes into operation, it will be expected to recover its costs through charges that it makes in relation to the certificates that it issues, on application, to individuals. Voluntary organisations, and employers, will be able to reimburse applicants if they so wish. In the case of Criminal Record Certificates and Enhanced Criminal Record Certificates, applications will need to be countersigned by a person registered with the Bureau for this purpose. Work is continuing on determining the fees for certificates, taking into account a number of elements, including costs incurred by police forces in undertaking searches of local police records in connection with Enhanced Criminal Record Certificates and the bureau's running costs, and fees for registration. The fees will be set by regulations, which will be laid before Parliament.
	Waiving charges in respect of those applying from the voluntary sector would inevitably increase the cost to the public purse or for other applicants. We have made clear our determination to keep fees as low as possible. An impact assessment will address the implications for the voluntary sector and others. This exercise will provide an up-to-date assessment and the results will be made known.

EU Charter of Rights

Lord McColl of Dulwich: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will press for Article 9 of the current draft of the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights to be gender specific in the same form as Article 12 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: No. Article 9 of the proposed European Union Charter of Rights states that "the right to marry and the right to found a family shall be guaranteed in accordance with the national laws governing the exercise of these rights". For the United Kingdom, the national laws in question must, following the Human Rights Act 1998, so far as possible be read and given effect compatibly with the European Convention on Human Rights.
	The proposed charter will not be legally binding; nor does it apply to matters outside the competence of the Community.

EU Charter of Rights

Lord McColl of Dulwich: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether Article 13 of the draft European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights presents any challenge to the restrictions on research specified by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The charter will be a political declaration and is not legally binding. Article 51(1) specifies that the charter is addressed to member states only when they are implementing Union law. Embryo research is not subject to Union law, and therefore it is not the Government's view that the charter should affect the restrictions on research specified by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990.

Chief Medical Officer's Annual Report

Lord McColl of Dulwich: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Why, for the first time in 150 years, the Chief Medical Officer's annual report was not published last year; and whether the Department of Health intends to publish it this year.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The last Chief Medical Officer's report was published in August 1998 by Sir Kenneth Calman shortly before he left office. The present Chief Medical Officer came into post in late September 1998. He has taken stock of the publications issued by the Chief Medical Officer and introduced a number of changes. He is currently exploring the opportunities for greater use of web-based publishing methods.
	After listening to a wide range of views, he also intends to introduce changes to the format of his annual report. Although the previous format served its purpose well in the past, it is very detailed and it is not always clear in what areas action is being called for. The practice of the CMO's annual report containing descriptions of a wide range of government policies which are contained in other documents added to the detailed nature of the reports.
	It is the intention of the Chief Medical Officer to produce the new format of the report later this year. It will be shorter, with a clear focus on areas for action and in a more accessible form.

Polio Immunisation

Lord Lucas: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the incidence of polio in the United Kingdom has yet declined to the point where inactivated Polio Vaccine would be preferable to Oral Polio Vaccine, with its attendant risks of "paralytic polio"; and, if not, how the United Kingdom differs from the United States in this respect.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The World Health Organisation recognises the United Kingdom as one of those countries that have eliminated indigenous polio due to wild virus. The last case of indigenous wild virus poliomyelitis was seen in the United Kingdom in January 1982. However, cases of wild virus poliomyelitis that have been acquired overseas have continued to occur.
	The whole of the Americas has been declared free of polio. However, the Indian sub-continent and central and west Africa continue to have relatively high rates of wild virus polio. These are areas of the world with which many residents of the United Kingdom have frequent contact. The United Kingdom therefore currently recommends oral polio vaccine (OPV), since this provides a greater degree of community protection than inactivated polio vaccine (IPV), which is used in the United States and which provides protection only for the individual.
	The World Health Organisation has set a target for eradicating polio world-wide. The Government are keeping the situation under review and, once we can be confident of the control of wild virus polio in the Indian sub-continent and central and west Africa, will seek advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation on future polio immunisation policy. Until such time we will continue to provide OPV.

NHS Plan: Nursing and Residential Care Proposals

Lord Lipsey: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the estimated costs of their proposal that the value of homes should be excluded from the calculation of means for the first three months of nursing and residential care; and
	What is the estimated cost of their proposal that nursing care should be free, as proposed in paragraph 15.20 of The NHS Plan.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: As the NHS Plan sets out, disregarding a resident's property from the means test for the first three months could benefit around 30,000 people each year, who could save up to £2,000-£3,000 during the first three months of their stay in a residential or nursing home. The actual cost to the Exchequer of these proposals will depend on the number of people entering residential care and their assets and earnings at that time. Sufficient resources have been added to the Personal Social Services Standard Spending Assessment to enable local councils to meet these pressures.
	The Government have estimated that the additional cost to the Exchequer of providing free nursing care, as outlined in the NHS Plan, will be £80 million in 2001-02, £175 million in 2002-03 and £165 million in 2003-04. Additional funding of this level was included in the Department of Health programme in the recent spending review settlement.

Queen's University Freshers' Fair: OTC Stand

Lord Rogan: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What representations they have made to Queen's University, Belfast about its refusal to allow an exhibition stand for the Officers' Training Corps at this year's Freshers' Fair.

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: Responsibility for this subject has been devolved to the Department of Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment in the Northern Ireland Assembly and is therefore no longer a matter for the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

Millennium Dome

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	On what date they first reached agreement with Nomura that the Millennium Dome would be sold to Dome Europe, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nomura.

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: Dome Europe were informed of the Government's decision to select them as preferred bidder on 26th July, the day before the announcement was made to Parliament.

Millennium Dome

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	By how much visitor targets must be increased in order to recoup the costs to the Millennium Dome of the lower admission prices paid by the customers of sponsors that have been allowed by the New Millennium Experience Company to offer discounted ticket schemes throughout the year 2000.

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: The New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC) has already implemented, or is in the process of implementing, time-limited promotion offers with three of the Dome's sponsors. Under the terms of these sponsor ticket promotions, NMEC forecast that over 1 million people will benefit. The company has calculated that, on the basis of ticket yield of offers made, against the ticket yield under the non-discounted pricing structure, approximately 190,000 visitors would be needed to deliver the level of revenue which theoretically would have been achieved had the sponsor promotion not been in place. Discounted ticket promotions of this kind, which are an integral and normal part of the visitor attraction industry, provide an opportunity for NMEC to enhance its own marketing and sales efforts, enabling the company to reach a great many families across the UK. The promotion also enables a number of people to visit and enjoy the Millennium Experience who might not have had an opportunity to do so otherwise.

NMEC: Solvency

Lord Luke: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the New Millennium Experience Company was trading solvently on 2 August; and
	Whether the New Millennium Experience Company was trading solvently on 4 September.

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: With the information made available to the board at 2 August the New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC) considered that it was trading solvently. On 3 August the Millennium Commission confirmed the offer of a further lottery grant of £43 million.
	The PricewaterhouseCoopers report dated 22 August, which was commissioned by the NMEC board following confirmation of the further lottery grant, states that the company was at the time of the report technically insolvent. A copy of the PricewaterhouseCoopers report has now been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. The report states clearly that "the Company should seek to bridge the identified funding urgently". On receipt of this information, it was therefore the immediate responsibility of the board and its directors to seek to remedy the company's insolvent status.
	The NMEC board, on the advice of its licensed insolvency practitioner, continued to trade whilst insolvent in accordance with the provisions of Section 214 of the 1986 Insolvency Act. This places a particular responsibility upon a board and its directors to continue to trade, even though they may be insolvent at that time, if there is a reasonable prospect that they may be able to introduce sufficient funds to correct the insolvency, and in doing so therefore eliminate any risk to creditors or other parties who would suffer in the event of a default.
	On 5 September the Millennium Commission confirmed to the NMEC an additional lottery grant of £47 million. In securing this grant the board of NMEC and its directors therefore discharged their responsibilities under the provisions of Section 214 of the 1986 Insolvency Act.

NMEC: Funding to Year End

Lord Luke: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they are confident that the Millennium Dome will continue to be operated by the New Millennium Experience Company until 31 December without further advances of lottery funds.

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: The board of the New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC), led by Executive Chairman David James, is confident that the company will operate the Dome to 31 December within the level of lottery grant already confirmed by the Millennium Commission.

Millennium Dome: Operating Costs

Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is their response to the statement made on Newsnight on 12 September by Mr David James, the Chairman of the New Millennium Experience Company, in respect of the Millennium Dome that "the operating building costs did go over budget".

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: I understand that David James, the Executive Chairman of the New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC), was referring to the aggregate operating costs incurred by the NMEC from its inception to its projected orderly wind-up in 2001. This indicates that operating costs will have overrun by perhaps as much as £40 million against the original budget of May 1997.
	However, the figure to which Mr James was referring includes not only the costs of operating the Dome as a visitor attraction, but also the costs included in the original May 1997 budget covering the National Programme and various other corporate expenditure items. The NMEC has calculated that, if the costs of operating the Dome as a visitor attraction for the 12 months since it opened on 1 January to its projected closing on 31 December are addressed exclusively, the present projection is that operating costs will show a saving of some £8 million above the figure included in that original budget.

Millennium Dome: Miss World Contest

Baroness Anelay of St. Johns: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When the Lord Falconer of Thoroton first became aware that the New Millennium Experience Company proposed to sign unlimited liability contracts with Zee TV regarding the staging of the Miss World contest at the Millennium Dome; and
	What efforts were made by the Lord Falconer of Thoroton to persuade the New Millennium Experience Company to include in their contract with Zee TV conditions which would exclude unlimited liability for compensation if the Millennium Dome were closed prior to the date of the staging of the Miss World contest.

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: It is the New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC) which is responsible for the day to day operation of the Millennium Experience Company including those contracts relating to events staged at the Millennium Dome. NMEC has advised that it has never proposed to sign unlimited liability contracts with Zee TV. The proposal is that NMEC will contract with Zee TV for the ticketing arrangements for the Miss World event. Zee TV will contract directly with the caterers, and the NMEC will contract separately with Endernol Entertainment for the life of the Skyscape value.

Child Poverty

Lord Higgins: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether child poverty can ever be eliminated using the definition of child poverty given by the Baroness Hollis of Heigham in her reply to a supplementary question by Lord Higgins on 28 December (H.L. Deb., cols. 942-43).

Baroness Hollis of Heigham: We have pledged to eradicate child poverty in 20 years and to halve it in 10. The second annual report Opportunity for All outlines a set of headline indicators against which progress will be measured. The number of children in low-income households (below 60 per cent of median) is only one of the measures that will be used. Measures already announced will lift 1.2 million children above this line.

Legally Binding Electronic Transactions

The Earl of Northesk: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they propose to take any action to clarify the provisions of the Electronic Communications Act 2000 as to what constitutes a legally binding electronic transaction.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: No action is proposed. It is for contracting parties to decide for themselves whether to contract or trade electronically. It is for the court to decide the extent to which parties are bound on the basis of electronic communications. The Electronic Communications Act supports the increasing use of electronic documentation by making electronic signatures admissible as evidence in disputes about such contracts. I do not believe the Act requires clarification.